I currently work for the Alcohol and Substance Abuse Prevention Council of Saratoga County as the youth outreach coordinator partnering with the New York Council on Problem Gambling on the You(th) Decide Project. I am writing to express my concern regarding lottery tickets given out to youth by family members and friends during the graduation season.

Why adults should not offer lottery tickets to youth as gifts: Only individuals of legal age are allowed to buy these products. The law restricts minors’ access to lotteries because of the concern that it may act as a gateway to other forms of gambling. Did you know that adolescents and adults with gambling problems report that they were first introduced to gambling through lottery tickets? These tickets were often bought by family members. During this graduation season, discourage friends and family members giving tickets to underage children. Make them aware that it is not an appropriate activity or present for your child.

Youth Gambling in New York state according to NYCPG:

48 percent of 7-12th graders reported they had gambled in the past year.
10 percent of adolescents in NYS (about 140,000) have had problems due to their gambling.
An additional 10 percent are at risk for problem gambling.
In 2010, state-sponsored gambling generated approximately $3.2 billion in revenues for NYS.
Remember: There is not just one person, nor one group of people, who are affected by underage gambling. There is not just one factor in someone’s life that alone leads to underage gambling. There is also not just one strategy that will alone prevent underage gambling.

If you, your group/organization, or child, would like to get more involved in YOU(th) Decide in your community, please contact me at ccfw-youth@preventioncouncil.org.

Schenectady is preparing for the transformation of a former industrial area with the arrival a casino. During the planning stages, area residents are asking a lot of questions — from disputes over building designs to what’s being done to address problem gambling.

Residents weighed in on the design of Schenectady’s incoming Rivers Casino Wednesday night.

Developer Rush Street Gaming started receiving negative feedback after a rendering of the proposed casino was printed in the Daily Gazette. Some readers felt duped with the design change – the sleek modern lines used a year ago in the race to secure a casino license had been transformed into a more modest concept.

Project manager Mike Levin thought the new design would have fit in with Schenectady’s existing architecture.

“And I think based on the reaction from the community, again, the pendulum went from extremely modern down to historic, and we’re going to try to bring it back, the pendulum, somewhere. Balance the two.”

Levin said the designers would begin making changes right away.

“Design doesn’t just happen. So I’m hoping we can be back in 10 days, two weeks.”

Apart from the appearance of the building, residents have also complained about the 80-foot sign for the new casino, but designers have not been as flexible, calling it needed for visibility in its location set back from the adjacent roadway.

Developers must also work out a deal with the neighboring STS Steel Company, which leases a portion of the property that will be under development.

The casino is also making its case for how it would prevent gambling addiction. Critics have warned that the casino could be a drain on a city with already high poverty.

At a presentation at Schenectady County Community College earlier Wednesday, Rush Street’s Zalletta Wyatt said brochures would be distributed to players and that staff is trained to recognize problem gambling.

“We also put in place self restriction – the ability for players to sign up for self restriciton – as well as the ability for players to sign up for self restriction, as well as being able to self restrict on credit and things of those natures. And check cashing and set their own limits,” said Wyatt.

Jim Maney, Executive Director of the New York Council On Problem Gaming, says the public needs five things: public awareness, prevention, treatment, education, and research.

Maney said it takes cooperation between all involved to prevent gambling addiction.

“Not only from industry wise, not only from government-wise, but everything that is happening on the internet. The new technology. This is booming. Gambling is booming. It’s going to continue to boom in many, many ways.”

New York’s casino gambling law requires casinos to take steps to prevent problem gambling. Wyatt says for the casino it’s also about integrity.

You can’t go far around here without coming across a chance to wager some money.

All the options tend to force the hand of parents to talk about gambling with their children.

Nick Parslow of Saratoga Springs, says honesty has been the best approach with his 15-year-old twins, Noah and Miles.

“We’ve been very upfront with them that there is a lot of interest and excitement around it but it can be a risky behavior,” said Parslow about what he tells his children.

He says his kids are smart and won’t buy into the “just say no” mentality when they see how the community thrives, in part because of gambling.

“It’s very hard to tell them all these things are bad when they look around at what a wonderful town we have based on some of those things,” Parslow said.

And soon there could be more gaming options in Saratoga Springs. The Casino and Raceway hopes to be the winning bidder for full-table games.

Here or elsewhere in the region, now’s a good time to step up prevention.

“It certainly makes it that much more important that we’re out there with the message and raising awareness among parents of the risks of you gambling,” said Robin Lyle of The Prevention Council. “Regardless of where gambling expands in the state there’s going to have to be heightened prevention efforts.”

The Prevention Council plans an outreach to 90,000 parents, beginning next month. They hope parents will share the message with children that gambling now can lead to gambling addicts later. Something Nick Parlsow’s boys already know.

“Try to be realistic with them and kind of show them real examples.”

The Prevention Council plans meetings and presentations to parent groups, and a web site that will launch next month.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Hundreds of thousands will experience the highs and lows of betting on horse racing in the coming weeks. People of all ages will pass through the turnstiles at Saratoga Race Course. But problem gambling groups say leave the betting to the adults because adolescent brains aren’t capable of processing the potential consequences.

“Our kids aren’t equipped to handle the wins and losses yet. We know that. We know that they’re not going to be ready until about 24,” says Jim Maney, executive director of the New York Council on Problem Gambling.

According to a recent state survey, 48 percent of students in grades seven through twelve had gambled within the past year. That number was a little higher in SaratogaCounty.

So problem gambling experts are teaming with law enforcement and the New York Racing Association to prevent kids from gambling. Security will keep a watchful eye on automated betting machines and NYRA will remind parimutuel clerks every day to ask for ID.

“It’s something that’s very important and if someone wants their job, they’ve got to do what they’re asked,” says Charles Wheeler, NYRA’s Facilities Manager at Saratoga.

Teens can be charged with trespass for trying to place a bet. Parents, who sometimes send their kids to the betting window, can be arrested for endangering their welfare.

“It’s a crime to send a kid in to make a bet,” says Jim Murphy, Saratoga County District Attorney. “The message is, if you’re going to make a bet and you’re a parent, do it yourself.”

SARATOGA SPRINGS — State and local officials gathered Friday, a week before Saratoga Race Course opens, to address the growing problem of underage gambling.

Local high school freshmen and sophomores are 20 percent more apt to face such challenges than teens of similar age throughout New York, a state study says.

Saratoga Springs has more gaming venues — the racecourse, Saratoga Gaming & Raceway’s racino — than most cities its size, in addition to easily accessible temptations found everywhere, such as supermarket vending machines that sell Lottery scratch-off tickets.

“Exposing kids to gambling at a young age just increases their likelihood of having problem gambling later on,” said Heather Kisselback, executive director of the Alcohol and Substance Abuse Prevention Council of Saratoga County. “Kids, especially teens who are so impulsive, feel like nothing can happen to them.”

Younger teens are especially vulnerable, she said.

Saratoga Race Course is a fun, family place, but parents need to keep a watchful eye on young people to make sure they don’t try to use self-service betting machines illegally. Also, young children shouldn’t be encouraged to make even small, “make-believe” bets on races, Kisselback said.

A 2008 poll conducted by the state Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services found that 49 percent of Saratoga County youths in grades seven through 12 have gambled in the past year. Males are four times as likely as females to have a problem.

“With greater acceptance of gambling and increased access, there is increasing risk for problem and pathological gambling,” said Mary Silberstein of the New York Association of Alcohol and Substance Abuse Providers. “It is imperative that we increase prevention efforts.”

The agency says the state shouldn’t allow any more casinos or new gambling opportunities without committing a portion of such revenue to problem gambling services.

New York Racing Association polices automated betting machines to make sure underage people don’t use them. This year, posters will be placed throughout the track, discouraging young people from using such machines.

The Prevention Council was joined by state and NYRA officials and Saratoga County District Attorney James Murphy III at a Friday press conference at the racecourse.

Kisselback said the council has a variety of in-school programs to deal with underage gambling, the same as drinking, smoking and substance abuse. “It’s the same scenario,” she said. “We haven’t addressed this issue until now.”

Informal sports betting, such as basketball and football pools, are extremely popular among young people, she said.

The council also hosts workshops to help parents recognize and deal with such problems.

Anyone with a gambling problem may call the state’s 24-hour HOPEline at 1-877-8HOPENY.